Lady Minutemen romp on ECA

The Lady Minutemen showed, Thursday afternoon, that it will take a lot more than a full-team effort to put a dent on their perfect record when they defeated Elkhart Christian Academy 3-0.

The Lady Minutemen came into the game with morale at an all-time high because of their great start to the season and because of the way they have defeated their opposition, scoring 11 goals in only two games. This time however, they faced a pesky Elkhart Christian Academy side that came into the game with a record of 0-2, but were able to keep the potent Lady Minutemen offense at bay for most of the first half.

“I believed that we were going to take advantage of this game but at the same time come in playing smart and confident… ECA did come out to get us. I have to give them some props. They did play a lot harder than what we expected,” Jessica De La Vega (12) said.

The Lady Minutemen dictated the tempo from the beginning, camping at ECA’s side of the field for most of the first half. However ECA defense maintained their composure and resisted the Lady Minutemen’s relentless pressure. Until finally, with 11minutes to go, Jackie Jenkins (12) made a goal thanks to an assist from Sara Tomasbi (10). After that, the Lady Minutemen pressed on goal even harder, but were unable to convert on numerous opportunities. Finally, with only 1:15 remaining the Lady Minutemen would strike again, when Hannah Amos (10) made an individual play on goal to give the Lady Minutemen some breathing room.

At halftime it seemed as if the Lady Minutemen would cruise to yet another win, but ECA however, had different plans and came out inspired.The second half was total opposite from the first half, ECA was dictating the tempo, and had their clearest shot at goal in the 27th minute, when an ECA player sneaked past the Lady Minutemen defense and came inches from scoring. Quick recovery from the Minutemen defense however, made it impossible for ECA to convert. After that rare lapse by the Lady Minutemen defense, they would again find a goal in the 19th when Sara Miller would capitalize on an assist by De La Vega. With the game all but finished ECA finally began to show signs of fatigue, and again, the Lady Minutemen began to suffocate ECA’s defense.

On how they tackled the second half, De La Vega said, “no not all [confident] because we knew we couldn’t let our guard down with only being up by 2. Coach wanted us to improve on some things and we went out there and did it. I could feel the anxiety in the girls at first, but then we stepped up and began to play our game again…we pulled through.”

The Lady Minutemen are positioning themselves as a perennial power with impressive wins over quality opponents.

“In my opinion I think we’re going to go all the way this year. We have a young team however we blend in so well together and we know each other’s touch like the back of our hand. I’m so excited to shock a lot of people,” De La Vega said.